Fighting For What?
by ricojohn
Summary: AU: A freak chance of a drone fly bye works Annabeth into a state. She wants Percy home now but he still has two weeks left in his tour and a lot can happen in two weeks. Will Percy make it home? Or is he just another casualty in a seemingly endless war? Probably should be rated teen but I'm paranoid so M to be safe.


A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: Percy and his friends have always seamed like warriors to me and I figured it was time for an AU that reflected that. As far as I know this type of fan fiction has never been done before so if there are any suggestions on how to go about this I am all ears because I have no previous work to analyze and think "That would go better like this" or "it should play out like that". So this is it.

Before I start this is not a fem Percy story but the opening character is a girl so bare with me, I promise it will make sense...eventually.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Astronomical Chance Fly-bye

POV: USAF Lt. Jackson

I stared at the computer screen in front of me. This was impossible! There was no way in hell this could be happening!

I zoomed in on the figure to be sure.

My drone was flying over a city in the Middle East as a battle raged below it.

That wasn't the mission though. Not for me anyway.

There was a terrorist leader fleeing town on the other side of the city and I had to take him out.

There was a perfect kill box set up with a 100% kill probability just outside the city. And a back up sight with a 90% chance that the target will die.

I was flying the drone to sight A when I noticed a squad was pinned down on the streets below.

This was nothing new to me. The hole city was a war zone, there was a shoot out on every block and a half.

There was one soldier reloading his weapon as my drone passed over that caught my eye.

"No way." I muttered, as I swung the drone around for another pass and zoomed in on him.

Despite the combat gear and all the dust from the fire fight, I recognized him.

"Jackson!" Called the Major from in back of me. "What the hell do you think your doing?" She demanded.

"Sorry sir." I said. "Im moving the drone into position to assist the squad pinned down by heavy fire."

"Negative, Jackson!" The Major continued. "You will put the drone back on course to kill the target!"

"Mam," I began. "That squad will be cut to shreds if I don't intervene."

"They have their orders and we have ours." The Major said in a low voice. "So get back on mission or Lt. Levesque will assume control of you're drone and finish the mission before you're court-marshal!"

I stiffened in my chair.

"Mam," I began again. "I know one of those soldiers down there." I said. "I don't feel right leaving him to die! He has kids and..."

She cut me off.

"Well then his wife will be married to a hero but if we don't finish this mission then a lot of other soldiers will die!" The Major screamed.

"That's my husband!" I screamed at her.

She paused for a minute.

"What?" She asked.

"That's my husband." I repeated. "You're telling me to leave my husband to die."

"Annabeth," Lt. Hazel Levesque said to my right from her drone staton. "You're joking right? I mean finding your husbands unit under fire in a huge city?" She looked worried.

"You've met him." I said to her. "Well look for your self."

She looked over my shoulder at my screen and her face paled.

"Oh my gosh." She said. "It's Percy."

I looked my unit's Major in the eye.

Major Thalia Grace was a tuff women who really hatted men and especially marines, who she said were nothing but pigs. So she had no quorums about leaving them to die.

"That's my husband." I said. "All I'm asking for is one fly-bye to give his unit some breathing room and maybe save the father of my children." I practically spat this at her.

She stared me down for a second before speaking.

"One fly-bye." She said. "Then you race to sight A and hope we didn't miss the target."

I nodded my thanks to her as I swung the drone around to strafe the insurgents who were pushing their way up the street.

POV: USMC Sgt. Jackson

I herd a whoosh as a round flew by my left ear.

Jesus that was close! I thought to my self.

I wasn't religious or any thing but common vernacular put religious words into my everyday vocabulary.

"Yo sarge!" Called a man to my left. "You ok?! Looked like you almost bought it!"

"I'm fine, Underwood!" I called back to my best friend in the squad.

Grover Underwood was a shy guy. He had a limp from when shrapnel from an IED entered his leg a month ago. He could fight just fine though so he wasn't sent home.

"Corporal Grace!" I called to the blond guy pinned down with the other half of my squad across the street. "I want suppressive fire on that machine gun!"

I saw Corporal Jason Grace nod in response.

"Di Angelo!" I called to the boy next to me. "Take Zang and move up the right side of the street on my mark!"

"That's suicide!" Privet Nico Di Angelo called back.

"Well if we stay here we're all dead men!" I screamed. "And our only retreat path is blocked by rubble from that RPG shot!"

Di Angelo frowned.

"Grace and I will lay down suppressive fire while you two move up!" I told him.

"Why us?" Privet Frank Zang asked.

"I need your SAW in a window to lay down cover fire while the squad moves up!" I told him. "And I need Di Angelo to watch your back!"

"Why me?" Asked Di Angelo.

"You're small enuf that it will be hard for them to hit you!" I joked.

"That's not funny!" He called over the constant sound of gun fire.

The noise in this street was deafening.

The hot desert air made me loose my temper.

"Look!" I shouted. "I'm in charge here! So just follow the dam order!"

Then there was a buzzing noise over head, followed by screaming insurgents and the thunks of bullets hitting bodies.

I leaned around the corner to see a drone flying away and the insurgents were running for cover.

"Now's our chance!" I screamed. "We're in business! Move, move move!"

As I screamed I raised my rifle to suppress the few brave insurgents who were advancing on us.

Cpl. Grace followed suit.

Then Zang and Di Angelo made a break for the door to the house we were stacked up on.

As frank and Nico passed me I herd them mutter.

"It's our own god dam firing squad."

and

"At least give us a blind fold."

A few seconds later they were in the building safe and sound.

"Light e'm up!" I screamed.

This was followed by the buzzing noise of Zang's SAW machine gun shooting through the window of the house and suppressing the dwindling enemy.

"Squad!" I shouted. "Move up!"

And I charged forward, without hesitation.

I herd the battle cry of my squad as we charged forward, driving back the insurgents.

Time Break! Please visit the lobby for snacks during this intermission! Wait, you don't have money for snacks? Who goes to a show and doesn't bring snack money?!

Aw well, back to the story!

POV: USMC Sgt. Jackson

I had just finished my after action report when Captain Chiron walked into my tent.

"Jackson." He said.

I immediately stood up and saluted him.

"Sir!" I said as I stood.

"At ease." He ordered.

I obeyed the order.

"Jackson," He began. "I understand your lieutenant didn't make it through the last one." He said.

I nodded grimly at the memory of seeing Lt. Castellan's body all mangled in the shot gun seat of the Humvee after the first wave of insurgents hit.

Lt. Luke Castellan was a jerk at times but he died trying to guide us through an ambush so we all considered him a hero.

"Well, Jackson." Cpt. Chiron continued. "I was wondering if you wanted the job?"

I frowned at that.

"Me sir?" I asked in confusion.

He nodded.

"The men know you." He said. "You got them through some pretty heavy shit and they trust you." He paused. "I would rather you lead them then some hot shot punk, who's never seen real combat before."

I nodded in agreement.

"So you'll take the job?" He asked.

"Yes sir." I said. "But who takes my job?"

"Grace." He answered. "And Zang takes his." He paused. "Your unit will get a new privet though."

I nodded.

"Good." He said, as he turned around. "Cary on Lieutenant." And with that he left.

Lieutenant? I thought. I'm a Lieutenant now?

I shook my head, unsure what to think.

Was I good enuf to be a Lt?

"Lt. Jackson?" A voice asked from out side my tent.

"Come in." I told the voice.

The guy entered my tent and saluted me.

I didn't recognize him.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"It's you're wife." He answered. "She's on hold in command."

I nodded to him and left to see why my wife was calling the base. I told he I would call when I got back and was free so I was confused as to why she would call now.

As I entered command a corporal handed me a phone and saluted me.

I nodded to him and took the phone.

"Hello?" I asked into the phone, hoping everything was ok.

"Percy?" Annabeth's voice replied on the other end.

She sounded scared.

"Annabeth?" I asked. "What's wrong?"

I knew Annabeth was stationed state side on a drone control facility. She flew drones a few hours a day and watched our kids the rest of the time.

My kids. I thought. Little Percy jr. and Josh. I hadn't seen them in months. They were only 3 years old and 18 months old, respectively.

Was that why she called? Are they ok?

"Percy," She began. "I though I might have lost you today." She sounded on the verge of tears and I wished I could be there to console her.

"I'm fine." I told her. "I was actually promoted to Lieutenant!"

There was a pause.

I looked around the command post and saw people running in every direction with information and what nots.

"That's great." She said at last, in a hollow voice.

"Annabeth?" I asked. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"I saw you!" She suddenly sobbed. "I was running a mission today and I flew over you're squad!" She was hysterical now. "There was RPG fire and a lot of insurgents and..." She broke off. "Percy, I thought I was going to loose you!"

I stared at the floor between my feet.

"You think you saw my squad?" I asked.

"I know it was you!" She sobbed. "I zoomed in! You were pinned down behind a wall next to Grover! I beget Major Grace to let be go off mission to strafe the insurgents and ..."

"Wait," I said. "That drone was you?"

The was a whimpering sob on the other end that I took for a yes.

"You save my life." I told her. "I thought we were screwed until that drone came."

I paused.

"Thank you." I told her.

"I though I was going to loose you." She cried on the other end. "Percy, you need to come home." She said. "The boys need their dad and I need my husband back."

I felt a tug at my hart as she said this.

"I will," I promised. "I'll come home to you."

"When?" She asked.

I could here the panic in her voice.

"As soon as I can." I said. "My tours up in two weeks so I'll be home soon."

"You better be." She growled. "If you come home dead, I'll kill you."

I laughed.

"Don't worry." I told her. "I'll see you soon."

A MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR: Well there's chapter 1. I post based on reviews so if you want to read more then post a review. I don't care what it says so long as it's a review. The more review the faster I update.


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